There is a long list of things you should avoid when building a sports betting parlay. But that would take away some of the fun. You don’t make these wagers because they are sound or even logical. You throw money at them for the hell of it.
That being said, you at least want to have a shot at winning. The most important things to avoid when building a sports betting parlay are ones that will either sabotage your wager or make the experience a bitter one.
As for our credentials on this topic, we nailed a pair of parlays last season: NFL week 18 and college football week 5. We bet $10 each time and pocketed a cool $579.94. Even if you take money out for our losing weeks, we’re still up $400. So yeah, we know a thing or two. Or at least more than Colin Cowherd or the other talking heads out there randomly picking a bunch of games.
More Betting: Picking a way too early Super Bowl 57 winner to bet on
3 things to avoid when building a sports betting parlay
1) Don’t include more than 5 bets
At best, each wager you add in a parlay is essentially a coin flip. It either will or won’t happen. In that case, the odds of you guessing the right outcome six times in a row is 1.56 percent. However, that isn’t the only reason you shouldn’t include more than five bets in your parlay.
It can be a struggle to locate five wagers you are confident in, but it’s not unheard of. By the time bet six rolls around, most people are just guessing. And taking stabs in the dark means your parlay is probably dead in the water.
2) Avoid multiple picks in a single game
The single game parlay has become a thing, but it’s really a fool’s bet. Too often, you end up with picks that are indirectly at odds with one another. Plus, a lot of these end with you needing to do a ton of calculations to figure out the path to victory. That’s not fun.
3) The last wager should never be on a team you hate
A while ago, I had a four-team college basketball parlay with the last pick being Gonzaga to cover -10.5 points against St. Mary’s. The first three bets, including my hopeless Idaho Vandals covering against Northern Colorado, hit. Of course, the Bulldogs crapped the bed.
This wouldn’t have been so bad had it not been for the fact I freaking hate Gonzaga. Spokane is the worst. Most Bulldogs fans couldn’t even tell you where the school is in the city let alone attend. And I had a horrible experience playing against their club soccer team while suiting up for Idaho. For them to derail my lucrative parlay was absolutely annoying.
It’s also the perfect example of why the last wager in a parlay should never be on a team you hate. They will screw you over.
Keep Reading: Why not bet on the Florida Panthers to win the Stanley Cup?
